


Reunion

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Series: Mafia AU [4]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-08 00:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4283100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her eyes widened as she dropped the magazine she was holding. Dick saw Roy call after her, but she didn’t listen as she ran into the road. Dick’s heart clenched as Damian followed suit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know if I ever said it, but Damian’s like 12/13 in this AU. Also, it’ll be decided later that Damian is going to still live with/be raised by Dick, but Talia is going to be a huge part of his life now that she’s allowed to be. All legal jarble is probably wrong, oops.

They were standing outside the courthouse, talking. The day’s trial had been long, the witness testimony exhausting. But it was headed in the right direction. Kori Anders wasn’t one of the top prosecutors in the country for nothing.

“I’m just saying, Dickiebird.” Jason sighed, glancing down at Damian, who was clutching Dick’s hand. “If this all goes the way we want, all of Bruce’s assets go to you. He never changed the next-of-kin. You have to prepare for that.”

“But we’re jumping to conclusions a little bit, don’t you think?” Dick asked sheepishly “Look, right now, all I’m worried about is getting proper custody of Damian. All that other stuff just…doesn’t matter.”

“There’s still a long way to go in the trial.” Barbara added. “I think we need to spend more time preparing in case we _don’t_ get what we want. Because you know as well as I do, Jay…”

“If Bruce gets out, he’s coming after the kid first. All to get at Dick. I know, I know.” Jason sighed. He noticed Damian frown and look away down the street.

“So, at the very least, we need to guarantee that no matter the outcome of the trial,” Barbara continued. “Dick gets legal custody, and Bruce gets his parental rights revoked.”

“DA Harvey Dent has already put a request in.” Jason swore. He found himself looking down at the kid again. Damian was staring at something with narrowed eyes, and pursed lips. “For that and a restraining order for you two.”

“Please, Bruce Wayne doesn’t _scare_ me.” Barbara huffed, crossing her arms. No one noticed Damian slip his hand out of Dick’s and step away. “It’s what he might do to Dick, to _you_ Jay. _That’s_ what scares me.”

“Yeah, well. You’re currently living with Dickie and the brat, so.” Jason shrugged. “I’m just covering all the bases. And, no offense to your toughness, Red. But it’d make me feel better if I knew you had one. Bruce is sleazy, but he won’t openly break the law. Not like that, not for something so petty as to harass his underlings.”

“But giving up parental rights. Doesn’t Bruce have to agree to it?” Dick asked, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You know he won’t.”

“Depends on the circumstances.” Jason explained. “We already have physical proof that Bruce hit him. And the testimony from Clark gives evidence that it was more than a one-time thing. That could be enough to have the rights forcibly removed. Bruce can appeal it, of course, but it’s rare for that to work in something like this.”

Barbara opened her mouth, but was cut-off by a commotion at the other corner of the courthouse steps. They turned to see all of the reporters and their cameramen getting ready, turning on their lights and microphones. Bruce was about to be led out of the building.

“Okay, bud. Let’s get outta…” Dick started turning to where Damian had been standing before. Upon not seeing him, he looked back up, spinning every which way. “Damian?”

After twirling around completely, he finally spotted him. He was further down the sidewalk, closer to the media. Dick’s heart skipped a beat. Close, he was _too_ close. Too close to the reporters, too close to his father-

“Damian!” He called, running up behind the boy. As he reached him, he found that Damian wasn’t watching the side door Bruce was going to be coming out of, like he normally did. Instead, he seemed to be staring across the small side street, past the journalists, past the police car, transfixed by a couple at the small newspaper stand. Dick grabbed a chuck of Damian’s coat, shaking it a little to try and get his attention. “Hey, D. We talked about this. You can’t run off from me like that, okay?”

Dick heard the creak of the thick metal door, and suddenly there was a wave of camera shutters clicking. His gaze moved up just in time to see Bruce give the cameras mischievous grin. It made him sick. All of the sudden, he felt Damian lurch forward.

“Damian, what-”

“Mother…?” Damian whispered, slapping Dick’s hand away. In the blink of an eye, Damian was sprinting down the sidewalk. _“Mother!”_

The reporters and Bruce all turned to watch as Damian barreled through them. Dick heard Jason curse behind him before he took off after the boy. “Damian, stop!”

But Damian wouldn’t, and Dick finally realized why. The couple at the newsstand had turned around at Damian’s shriek. The man was Roy Harper, another detective in Jason’s squad. The woman, though, Dick hadn’t seen in almost ten years.

It was Talia.

Her eyes widened as she dropped the magazine she was holding. Dick saw Roy call after her, but she didn’t listen as she ran into the road. Dick’s heart clenched as Damian followed suit.

But they were lucky. Not only was it a side street, but it was closed off from the public when Bruce needed to be loaded in or out.

Talia and Damian met in the center of it. There was instantly a new wash of shutter clicks from the media. Talia’s arms instantly engulfed the child as the two collapsed into a heap on the median. Damian – known for his stoicism – was already openly sobbing as he latched onto Talia’s coat.

Talia, too, had tears streaming down her face as she ran a hand over Damian’s head. When Dick hit the edge of the sidewalk, he heard her breathe, “Damian. Oh, _Damian_ , I thought I was never going to see you again.”

“I missed you, Mother.” Damian cried, letting Talia pepper his face with kisses. “I missed you _so much_.”

“And I you, my love.” Talia smiled, rocking her son back and forth. “But never again. I will _never_ leave you again.”

In the corner of his eye, Dick saw Jason approach Roy. “Sorry, Todd.” Roy grinned. “You weren’t answering your phone.”

“You could have waited at my apartment. Like I _told_ you to.” Jason scolded.

“She wanted to watch the trial. After all that lady’s been through, it’s the least I could do.” Roy shrugged. “But we got here a little late. We were just heading back to your place, actually.”

“Yeah, well. Now we all will.” Jason decided. “Hey, Dickie. You wanna…?”

Dick nodded absently, stepping onto the street and moving up behind Damian. The boy was still making loud, gasping sobs as Dick kneeled beside him. Talia glanced up, reaching a hand up to grab at Dick’s arm. “Richard. _Thank you_.”

“It was my pleasure, you know that, ma’am.” Dick smiled. He glanced over at Bruce, who, despite nudges of his officer, wouldn’t move towards the car. Instead, he was staring at them, eyes flickering to Jason every few seconds, with an angry frown. Dick could hear the reporters talking into their mics as the cameras continued to capture the moment. “But how about we continue this at Jay’s…?”

“Of course.” Talia nodded as she sniffed. She ducked her head to stare into Damian’s eyes. “My love, we must get out of the road.”

Damian nodded, but didn’t relinquish his hold as they stood. Suddenly Barbara was there, hand on Damian’s back as she led both him and Talia over to Jason and Roy. As they walked away, Dick turned back to Bruce one more time. The man’s fierce eyes were glued to him. After a pause, Dick flashed him a lopsided grin and turned to follow the others.

**Author's Note:**

> [Other Mafia AU stories](http://fishfingersandjellybabies.tumblr.com/search/mafia+au)   
> 


End file.
